Fireworks of Glass at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis

An impressive 43 foot tower of glass is now on exhibit at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.  Dale Chihuly is the artist.  Here is a picture:

It is placed above a glass ceiling.  1,600 pieces of glass compose this 18,000 pound exhibit. What a sight that must be!

Insect Art

Daughter Julie gave us the book Pheromone. (2008, Pomegranate Communications, Inc., CA)


The Insect Artwork of Christopher Marley in photographs is an amazing array of botanical images. 

From the bookplate:

Christopher Marley's graceful arrangements of jewel-like anthropods and delicate betterflies transform the hitherto creepy world of insects into stunning works of art.  His keen eye for design combines with his entomological passion to produce mesmerizing kaleidoscopic bug mandalas and striking up-close-and personal single insect portraits....

Here are a couple of photos I took from the pages of this book:

These images will be fun, but challenging, to paint in oils.

Angels Used in Embroidery

This site, Checkered Houses, displays artwork from over thirty artists.  Many are folk artists. 

Paul Flack drew the angel shown above. 

Paul began to look for that sense of fulfillment in painting, inspired by the likes of visionary artists. He had painted earlier in his life for a short time. As his spiritual quest grew, he became intrigued with the concept of angels. Angels are spiritual in nature, not religious and span time and appeal to all ages.

His angels are colorful, eye-catching, and unique in their forms. They appeal to everyone whether you believe in them or not and encourage the imagination to wonder in terms of what the painting means to each individual. It is in this, that Paul finds his fulfillment.

This will make an interesting outline for embroidery work on the back of a work shirt.  The lines are simple, and can easily be drawn from the photo onto paper or cloth for further embellishment.

Here is one similar angel embroidered from a kit, and sewn onto cloth, then appliqued on the backing of a woman's vest:

We need all the angels available to surround us, so why not on our clothing?

Art Space Colorado and Open Studios

Western Colorado is privileged to have exceptionally talented artists. One of the many organizations that sponsors art in this area is ArtSpaceColorado.

On the weekend of May 1 and 2, 2010, "Open Studio Tour" is happening in the Grand Valley of Colorado. Twenty-four different studios will be open during this weekend, displaying works. From their recent flyer:

Spring is a great time to visit the Grand Valley. Twice a year artists open their creative spaces and invite the public to view and purchase their artwork. There are sculptors, painters, jewelers, potters, and many, many more artists in different media to enhance your visit. On the self-guided tour, you choose which artists to visit.

OPEN STUDIOS SPRING TOUR

Saturday, May 1, 10 AM to 5 PM

& Sunday, May 2, Noon - 5 PM

Celebrate the arts and view new artwork from artists across the Grand Valley, free of charge.

Click here to download a map or you may pick one up at any of these locations:

•The Artist's Haven

•The Art Center

•GJ Parks & Recreation

•Visitors Center (Horizon & Fruita)

•Camilla's Kaffe

•Traders Coffee on Patterson

•Fruita Chamber of Commerce

•Coffee Muggers

•Colorado Java

•Main St. Bagels

•Hang Ups Gallery

•Planet Wines

•Planet Earth

•Twisted Brick Studios

•Palisade Chamber of Commerce

•Main Library Downtown

•Alpine Bank Downtown

•Meadowlark Garden

•Tiara Rado Pinion Grill

•Chez Lena

•Palisade Chamber of Commerce

•Palisade City Hall

•7th Street Deli

•KAFM

•Haute Tomato Cafe

•Aspen Coffee

•Fruita City Hall

$13.99 + $3.95 (shipping & handling)

This handy calendar has 26 full color art images and space for notes or comments. Its a convenient size for home or office which fits easily into a portfolio, backpack, or purse. Makes a one of a kind gift too!

VISA or MASTERCARD ACCEPTED

NOTICE:

If for any reason you don't like the purchase, send it back within two weeks for a refund  (purchase price). Questions? call 970-640-8177 or email artspaceopenstudios@gmail.com 

Mint used in Main Dish

Thai  Beef-Mint Salad (we like it as an entree):

The recipe shown above is an easy one that we make frequently in the spring and summer when mint is plentiful.  This recipe is from a book K's Kwisine, authored by Harry Kaiserian, a Maine columnist.  It can be purchased here.

Harry says in the foreword of the book:

These recipes are all favorites of somebody, somewhere. The best of the best, so to speak. They represent many, many years of cooking and dining experience and were submitted by a lot of wonderful people for the K's Kwisine column that continues to run since its start in 1987.

Daughter Heidy and I were fortunate to spend a week with Harry Kaiserian and his wife at the Italian Cooking School Scula di Cucina "La Bottega del 30" north of Sienna, Italy learning how to make some traditional Italian dishes. 

Harry was just getting this book printed when we met, so of course I had to purchase the compilations of his favorite recipes.   Every recipe in his book K's Kwisine is a keeper. Give the Thai Beef-Mint a try, and like Harry says: "be bold" and enjoy!

You might also be interested in the recipes we learned to prepare in the villa a Sesta at their cooking school.  The book of Italian recipes is available at the Scula di Cucina website located here.

Dolls Carved from Soap

A friend sent a PowerPoint slideshow that is amazing. Amazing because each doll has been crafted from a bar of soap. See below for the first slide in the series.

Here is the link to the slideshow of  15 intricately crafted soap dolls in its entirety:

 French Dolls in Soap

FloralArtOilsandWatercolors - A new blogspot for artwork

Yesterday was the day for art clean-up, including creation of a new blog for cataloguing my paintings.

The new site is called Floral Art, Etc. and will focus only on art and displaying what I am currently painting.

Most of the oils and watercolors that I saved to computer files are displayed here.  Some are for sale, some have been gifted, but all can be more or less replicated.  Many of those pieces have been blogged about on Nancy's Arts Crafts and Favorites on blogspot, and the references are duplicated there.

Please visit it and offer constructive criticism, if you will.  Thanks!

clean up picture courtesy of this site by Anjum

Multnomah Lace Shawl (modified)

Just off the hooks is a fab shawl pattern that took about a month to knit.  It is the free download pattern available here from HelloKnitty.

Socks that Rock by Blue Moon Fibers, 100% merino wool, was the yarn choice in the lunasea colorway:

Modifications were made to the original pattern, thanks to cheepskate on Ravelry. 

Here is a picture of the completed lace shawlette.  It knitted up to 66" x 23" on size 4 circular needles.

It was an interesting pattern, and the lace repeats (feather and fan) kept my interest, along with the modifications to the upper part of the shawl.  (Again, thanks, cheepskate and HelloKnitty.)

Portrait Painting Tips on the Web

Painting in watercolor to achieve a portrait?  A web search turned up this site by Margaret Crowley-Kiggins, FWS.  She gives step-by-step advice including the selection of equipment and palette colors, to preparation of the canvas, all the way through completion of facial features and background.

At another site located here, the same artist goes through similar steps on another portrait.  The steps are basically the same, with minor modifications.  This is a guide which will prove worthwhile to save in the computer Art-Favorites toolbar.

Several years ago, I attempted painting a copy of Madonna from the original by Murillo (see below):

Here is my poor rendition of Madonna in oil, completed in 2007:

(The Madonna looks about 40 in my picture, and her chin needs some touch up, obviously.)  It's a start.

Friend Shirley is an accomplished artist, and is currently painting a portrait of a beautiful young woman (it is in its first stages):

Here are two portraits she previously painted:

The Open Tomb

Living in a Saturday World before Easter

The following is taken from Christ in Our Home, a Lutheran publication:

What do you do on Saturday? Catch up on work around the house? Make a trip to the grocery store? In our culture Saturday is an in-between day. It's wedged between the work week...

What do you do when your world has fallen apart? Late Friday afternoon, Joseph of Arimathea made sure the body of Jesus received a proper burial.  He sealed the tomb with a large stone.  I can imagine that once Joseph's work was done, he -- like the other disciples -- started wondering what to do next.  The Saturday between the first Good Friday and Easter was an in-between day.  It was a day of unspeakable sadness.  The hopes of the disciples had died with Jesus.  There was little for them to do but wait.  They could not fix the situation.  Only God could.

We live out our days on Saturday. It's a day of waiting for God to come and do what only God can do. Philip Yancey tells a story of a grandmother who lies buried under 150-year-old oak trees in a cemetery in Louisiana. In accordance with the Grandmother's wishes, only one word is carved on the tombstone: "Waiting."

(From Augsburg Press, p. 7, April, May, June 2010  issue)

Good Friday: Images

Christians gather at Rome's ancient forum ahead of Good Friday's Stations of the Cross ceremony, commemorating the crucifixion of Christ.

From Photobucket:

From Apologetics:

Is Christianity True? Introduction by Brian Auten (series of essays)

Is Christianity True? Introduction by Brian Auten

Today's essay can be accesses via audio here.

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